Kibbey, Joseph H. (Joseph Henry), 1853-1924

Born in Centerville, Indiana in 1853, Kibbey studied law with his father and was admitted to the Indiana bar in 1875. After moving to Arizona in 1888, he practiced irrigation and corporation law. He was elected associate justice of the territorial supreme court in 1889; elected to the territorial council in 1902; and in 1904 became territorial attorney general. As the territorial governor appointed by President Roosevelt from 1905 to 1909, he successfully opposed a proposal to create a single state from the territories of Arizona and New Mexico. In 1903, he formed the Salt River Valley Water Users' Association. He died in 1924.

Joseph Henry Kibbey was born in Centerville, Indiana on March 4, 1853 to Caroline and John F. Kibbey. John F. Kibbey was an attorney, Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton's law partner, and Indiana attorney general in 1862. Joseph Henry attended public schools and Earlham College before becoming an attorney in 1875 in Richmond, Indiana.

In 1888, Kibbey and his family moved to Arizona for his health and took a position as attorney and secretary for the Florence Canal Company. In 1889, United States President Benjamin Harrison appointed Kibbey associate justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. While serving on the court, Kibbey's ruling in Wormser v. Salt River Valley Land Company set a precedent by stating water belonged with the land and it could not be sold as a separate entity. After leaving the court in 1893, Kibbey relocated to Phoenix and practiced law. He served in the 1903 Territorial Legislature before Governor Brodie appointed him attorney general in 1904. When Governor Brodie resigned from the governorship, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Kibbey to take his place in 1905.

During his tenure as Governor, Kibbey advocated against joint statehood with New Mexico, against school segregation, and for assessment and tax law reform. In 1908, President Roosevelt re-nominated Kibbey for governor. When William Howard Taft became president in 1909, Kibbey left the Governor’s Office and became counsel for the Salt River Valley Water Users' Association. He remained active in water issues throughout the rest of his career.

Kibbey died on June 24, 1924 and was buried in Greenwood Memorial Park in Phoenix. Kibbey married Nora Burbank of Centerville, Indiana in 1877 and they had two children, Walter and Anne.